Brooks Reed expected to miss at least 3-4 weeks

Texans linebacker Brooks Reed is driven back to the locker room after straining his left groin during the first quarter Thursday. (Karen Warren/Chronicle)

Already depleted at linebacker, the Texans have temporarily lost starting outside linebacker Brooks Reed to a groin strain. He is expected to be out for at least three to four weeks, a person familiar with Reed’s condition said.

Reed suffered the strain against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter of the Texans’ Thanksgiving Day game. He sustained the injury while pursuing a Lions player in coverage.

Depending on how his body responds to rehabilitation, Reed could take up to six weeks to recover. Even with the more conservative estimate, Reed would likely be back for playoffs.

The Texans were physically taxed Thursday’s game, which was their second consecutive overtime game. Both games happened in the span of five days and Houston became the first team ever to win two overtime games in five days.

The good news for the Texans is they now have nine full days between games. They’ll need it to heal.

Reed, starting inside linebacker Bradie James (hamstring) and starting right tackle Derek Newton (knee) were Kubiak’s biggest concerns coming out of Thursday’s game, the Texans’ second within a five-day span. All three had MRIs on Friday after returning to Houston.

The Texans were already without starting nose tackle Shaun Cody, starting cornerback Johnathan Joseph and inside linebacker Tim Dobbins, who is starting in place of Brian Cushing, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in October. By the end of Thursday’s game, the Texans only had two healthy inside linebackers – Barrett Ruud and Darryl Sharpton. Sharpton was playing in his second game of the season, having come off the physically unable to perform list last Saturday.

Kubiak said Monday morning Cody, who suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung against the Buffalo Bills, would be back next weekend in Nashville. Joseph and Dobbins were still “touch-and-go.”

And for at least a few weeks, they’ll turn to first-round draft pick Whitney Mercilus to fill Reed’s starting role. Kubiak said outside linebacker Bryan Braman would also be part of the rotation.

“We’ll still have some form of a rotation, but as I said before, it’s kind of like watching (rookie WR) Keshawn (Martin) start to make plays for this team and grow up,” Kubiak said. “You’re not a rookie no more. Whitney’s kind of been the same way, and then obviously we’re going to have to call on him to be huge right now, so that’s what he’s here for. That’s why we drafted him.”